Invasion of the Lionfish

A fish that doesn't belong is wreaking havoc on an entire ecosystem

Invasion of the Lionfish

A fish that doesn't belong is wreaking havoc on an entire ecosystem

"What is as graceful and beautiful as a butterfly, as ferocious as the most dangerous predator, and delivers a painful sting with its venomous spines?"

This isn’t about protecting a pet project or salvaging a single species.

This is a fight to save an entire ecosystem.

ISLAMORADA, Florida — Almost motionless by the reef, it looks like a dragon guarding an enchanted forest. But its diaphanous, dramatic beauty obscures its deadly nature.

Lionfish, a non-native species and a popular aquarium fish, presents a serious threat to other marine life. With a venomous spine and few natural predators, lionfish are taking over the oceans, destroying coral reefs and fish populations in their path.

"The problem is not just that they don’t belong here," says Lad Akins, director of special projects at the Reef Environmental Education Foundation. "The problem is, what they’re going to do to our native ecosystem."

Lionfish, a species native to the Indo-Pacific Ocean, are suspected to have been released into the Atlantic in the mid-1980s by hobbyists who dumped their aquariums into the ocean.

They have since spread throughout the entire Caribbean and western Atlantic, voraciously feeding on other species that have no natural defenses against the foreign fish.

A group of divers, however, are taking on the fish, trying to curtail its spread by killing it off during individual hunts or competitions such as the Islamorada Lionfish Derby.

There's only one way to stop the invaders...

Hunt, kill and eat the lionfish

By the time anyone noticed, they were already wreaking havoc...

Lionfish, also known as zebrafish, firefish, turkeyfish or butterfly-codare, are beautiful creatures. Their fins combined with the venomous spines that line their bodies make them appear almost like tropical birds.

Their name, too, obscures their true character. With orange, white and black-striped bodies, they look more like a tiger than a lion.

Unlike many reef predators, lionfish don’t hide and then strike. Instead, they stalk their prey, seeming innocuous, before the fatal attack. In addition to minnows and shrimp, lionfish also consume juvenile grouper, snapper and other economically important species.

Their native habitat is the Indo-Pacific Ocean, where they fit nicely within an ecosystem that has adapted to these voracious predators and their venomous missile defense systems.

15

Average lifespan in years of a lionfish in the wild

1 foot

Length of a lionfish, though some grow up to 15 inches

50

Number of fish species that lionfish consume

Gorgeous to look at and selling for as much as $200 per fish in New York City pet stores, these water-born invaders have a voracious appetite that upsets the food chain. A non-native species, they feed on other fish and small crustaceans.

Though the exact story of their introduction in the Atlantic isn’t fully known, it is believed that aquarium-owners, who had bought the exotic-looking species, inadvertently introduced them to the local eco system by dumping the contents of their aquariums into the ocean.

Since lionfish had no natural predators in this region, they spread without hindrance. By the time anyone noticed, they were already wreaking havoc on the existing marine balance.

The U.S. National Ocean Service website poses this educational question: "What is as graceful and beautiful as a butterfly, as ferocious as the most dangerous predator, and delivers a painful sting with its venomous spines?"

The answer? Lionfish.

On a more somber note, researchers say the species is almost impossible to eradicate once established and it is clear that today lionfish are an environmental calamity — not just in South Florida but in the Atlantic Ocean and in the Gulf of Mexico.

Stephanie Green, a marine biologist from Oregon State University, and Lad Akins, director of special projects at the Reef Environmental Education Foundation (or REEF), have been trying to determine the impact of the invasive species.

On some reefs, ocean researchers have found that the presence of lionfish have decimated native marine life by as much as 95%. For REEF and many other conservationists, this isn’t about protecting a pet project or salvaging a single species.

"The research we’ve done shows that when you remove lionfish, the native fish will come back," Green says.